Majorana ready for safe installation

The Majorana Demonstrator (MJD) collaboration got good marks last week on its safety readiness review, in preparation for the experiment?s move to the Davis Campus on the 4850 Level. The review committee, which included outside observers and members of the Sanford Lab staff, concluded that ?MJD should achieve a safe installation in the Davis Campus by following the established process and interaction with SURF.?

The Majorana Demonstrator team can start moving into their Davis Campus lab on Feb. 29, but Science Liaison Director Jaret Heise said they?ll probably start the following week.

Majorana spokesperson Steve Elliott of Los Alamos National Laboratory described his own mood as one of ?excited panic,? as the date nears. ?When you actually have a date, it sort of drives home that you actually have to be ready,? Elliott said. ?We?re certainly very excited about actually starting to work underground, assembling the experiment.?

Majorana has been working underground since last July, electroforming copper at the temporary clean room on the 4850 Level, near the Ross Shaft. Their Davis Campus lab, near the Yates Shaft, will be in the north end of the Transition Area.

The Majorana readiness review focused on a number of safety issues. ?We use a fair amount of liquid nitrogen underground,? Elliott said. ?We do a lot of standard activities that have a moderate level of risk?hoisting and lifting, some minor etching-type chemical work and some high-voltage power supplies. Very little of it is unique or unusual, but it certainly requires thought to make sure you do it properly.?

Gil Gilchriese, deputy head of the Operations Office of the Sanford Underground Research Facility, was on the review committee.  ?The bottom line is, good job,? Gilchriese said.